Maury said Helen beat him to it, since she was always the one for him.

“Actually, it was not a great surprise because if she hadn’t done it, I was prepared to do it,” he said, with a grin. “We had been going together for such a long time. Everybody knew that she was betrothed to me. It was just a matter of time.”

“We ran away and got married. It was an elopement. We told the family about it afterwards. We weren’t taking any chances,” she recalled. “His family wasn’t too happy with me and mine wasn’t too happy with him.”

“[They said] ‘It never would last – it just wouldn’t last,’” Helen chuckled.

When asked of their fondest memories together over the decades, Helen said she simply can’t choose.

“Every moment is a fine time. It’s hard to pin one down,” she smiled.

Maury said his favorite memories with his wife include the great meals they have shared over the years and the time they won a big dance contest.

“I forgot that. It was quite a deal when we did that!” Helen said, as Maury’s story jogged her memory.

“I agree with you. It is quite a deal,” Maury replied.

When asked their secret to their long relationship, the couple admitted they don’t completely know the answer.

“I don’t think there’s a secret,” Helen said. “A good relationship [helps], a love of stories and anything that keeps a person interested and together.”

Like any husband and wife, Helen said she and Maury have moments when they bicker.

“[We argue] about anything and everything – the tiniest little thing or something big, it doesn’t matter. We just like to argue,” she said, laughing.

In the end, though, the couple loves one another unconditionally.

“It was his mind. He’s terrific,” Helen said, referring to what drew her to Maury in the first place.

Even after 80 years of marriage, the couple said they still hold hand sometimes, too.

They said young couples should always remember to laugh in their own marriages – as humor helps weather any storm.

“Keep your sense of humor. It’s very important,” said Helen. “And just, go along. Get as much pleasure out of the relationship as you can and just hope that it will continue and that you will be happy with its continuance. That’s all I can tell you.”

The couple lives in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. They have three grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Maury will turn 103 years old on Jan. 31.